Valve assembly



May 11, 1954 l.. R. PETERS 2,678,187

VALVE ASSEMBLY Filed June 30, 1949 Patented May 11, 1954 UNITED STATES ?ATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to a valve assembly having a valve structure, a valve seat having an annular seal face, each radial element which is defined by astraight line and associating therewith an annular sealing member having more than circular line contact with that face when the valve is closed, 4the seat confronting face of the seating member having a surface arcuate in radial section.

Valves embodying this invention can be used in various installations and two of these, which are subject to extreme conditions of use, are high pressure relief valves for steam lines and hot water faucet lines. In the former it is the high pressure and high temperature that rapidly deteriorates the conventional bibbs so that such pressure relief valves in continued use do not hold to the initialpredetermined adjusted pressure.

The conventional faucet has an undesirable characteristic in that the bibb washer deteriorates by reason of temperature and mechanical wear, the latter being aggravated by the use of a ridge seat.

1t is well known in the valve art that sealing surfaces will not hold the seal when both in radial section at their confronting faces have substantially matching straight line elements.

The chief object of the present invention in effect is to insure positive seal by means of two confronting annular seating surfaces wherein the radial sections thereof have effective straight line matching elements when sealing, and wherein the sealing element initially is not subject `to load sealing pressure and wherein each radial section thereof has an arcuate` contour deformable to a straight line element contour when under sealing pressure and in such a manner that the sealing member cannot `take a permanent set under repeated use.

The chief feature of the present invention resides in forming a bibb washer of ring character and in so mounting the ring that it cannot yield in two transverse directions, one of which is perpendicular to thevalve sealing faces and the other of which is substantially parallel to the direction of the force of the pressure fluid to be sealed off.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the Vfollowing description and claim:

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a central cross-sectional view of a conventional relief valve with the invention embodied therein.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a faucet with parts shown in elevation and broken away to more clearly show the invention.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged central cross-sectional View of a valve seat, valve member and an O-ring bibb seal.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged central cross-sectional View of a modified form of valve member and its association with the O-ring bibb seal.

In Fig. l, i0 indicates a relief valve body having `a supply opening Il, a pressure chamber l2 and a drain chamber I3 with opening 13a. Beyond drain chamber I3 is a head i4 having chamber lila, vented as at l5, which head is threaded into body portion ill as at i6. A diaphragm il is trapped between the body portion lil and the head I4. Said head at its remote end has a threaded aperture i3 and positioned therein is an adjusting nut I9 which is hollow and mounts a stem 2i) having a swivel connection 2i with the member 22 internally threaded at 23. This member bears upon a washer 24 which in turn bears upon a rimmed plate 25 that is in contact with the diaphragm I1.

A load spring 26 bears at one end upon washer i4 and is disposed about the member 22 and at its other end bears against the spring retainer 2'! having an operative bearing upon. washer 23. These two slide upon stem 20 and engage the inner end I9a of the nut i9. A set screw 29 is carried by the head exposed end of adjusting nut I9 and is adapted to lock the nut and stem together in adjusted position thus holding the spring load adjustment.

Disposed within the pressure chamber l2 and bearing at its rear face 30a upon the diaphragm l1 is the valve body portion Sii havingI a threaded stern portion 3! that extends through the diaphragm and members 24 and 25 and has rigid threaded connection in the threaded portion 23 of member 22. i

Disposed within the pressure chamber I2 is the valve seat providing member 32 having the threaded sleeve portion 33 carried by the partition portion i22L of the pressure chamber i2 and herein integral with the body portion It. This sleeve and valve seat forming member 32-33 has a central bore 34 therethrough. This is the waste outlet to the drain chamber I3. The valve is open when the pressure in chamber i2 exceeds that load imposed upon the diaphragm by the spring 26. When the pressure is relieved and is less eifective than the force of the load spring, the valve is closed by the spring. This opening and closing action is repeated as often as required by pressure increase and decrease, respectively.

Reference will now be had to Fig. 3 wherein the seat, valve member and seal is shown enlarged. The valve body portion @il has a rear face Sila, a threaded stem portion 3l, and a front face 30h. The threaded sleeve 33 with valve seat 32 has a front face 35 and a central bore Sil the ethrouglr The O Vring 36 is conhned within an annular' channel 3l having a straight side wall 38 terminating in an inwardly directed flange 33a at the mouth. VChannel 3? also has a nat rear surface or wall til.' The washer 4l is secured to the stern portion 3l as by the bolt 42. Said washer has a straight side wall 39 terminating in an outwar lyV directed flange 39a at the channel mouth.

The Width or" channel 3l' is determined by the diameter' of the O ring, both being substantially the same. The depth of said channel is approximately .010 to .015 of an inch less than the diarneter of the O ring. Therefore the G ring maintains pressure at all times with said chanel at the three quadrant points as shown at Sie. When the valve is in closed position the metal Vfront face Bb is in contact with the front face 35 of the valve seat. This limits the coinpressive force upon the O ring. The O ring accordingly is forced in the direction of the arrows 35a and said ring tends to nil the channel 3l. This diagonal deformation of the G ring prevents the Water or steam from passing around the flange 39 or between the O ring and the back face of the channel.

Upon opening the valve, the O ring immediately springs back to its normal position because of the three point quadrant contact as previously described.

As initially set forth another valve structure that is subject Vtorextreme wear in use and the bibb of which offers considerable objection when Y used upon'hot water lines is the conventional hot water faucet. Y1n Fig. 2 theV invention is shown included in such a faucet. The body portion It@ ofthe faucet has an intake 54 and an outlet d5. body projection Se is threaded at it to receive bonnet ill.V Trapped by 'saidbonnetV is a bonnet'washer iii projecting therethrough is 'the valverstern 5: which also projects through the bonnet at lle. Y

The upper projection fida is internally coarse threaded to receive the coarse threaded body portion 53 of the valve stern. The interior Vend of Vsaid stem terminates in a valve member bfi. Secured thereto by bolt 55 is the washer 5t hav- Ving an outwardly directed annular ilange `562 tionthere again is metal to metal contact and the pressure seal is provided by O ring distortion. Reference will now vbe had to Fig. 4, wherein another forni of theV Vinvention is illustrated.

Herein theV valve body` member |30 is formed 4 from a solid piece of metal which has a threaded stem I3! thereon. The O ring ist is confined within an annular channel i3'l` having parallel straight line side walls 138 and 135i and a flat rear wall or surface Idil. At the channel mouth each side wall may terminate in a coincident ridge |382 and Lida respectively. A crimping tool is then applied to said body member which turns inward, as shown the said ridges H58a and i3d? to trap the 0 ring-in the channel.

The relationship of the O ring in and to said channel is the same as previously described.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the saine is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character. I Y

The ,several modications described herein as well as others which will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, all are considered to be within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claim.

The invention claimed is:

In a valve structure, a pair of relatively Inovable members having confronting faces arranged for Contact in substantially parallelY relationship, one or said members having Aan annular recess extending inwardly from its said confronting fac 4providing a bottom wall parallel with said face and an'outer Wall disposed parallel with the axis of movement of said member, a lip extending wardly from the edge of said Wall adjacentV its juncture with said face with its outer surface in the same plane with the latter, a washer `in said recess resting upon the said bottom wall andV having its cuter surface in the saine pla-ne with confronting face, said washer provided with a Vperipln-iral wall parallel with thesaid axis oi movement and spaced from the outer wall toprovide a space between said walls, a lip projectingV outwardly from said peripheral wall adjacent its outer face and into said space, the outer surface of said washer lip disposed in the same .plane with the outer face of saidV washer, the distance between the outer edges of said lips being less than the distance between said annular' wall and said periphery, an O-ring seated in said space and o'a transverse Vdimension to normally rest upon .said bottom wall and in contact with said outer and peripheral walls with a portion Vthereof projecting through the space between said lips and slightly beyond the plane of the outer faceV of said `rneinber and said washer, and means for holding said washerin said recess.

References cited in the sie of this 'patent UNITED STATES PATENTS,

`Number I Name Date 449,161 Lacy lViai. 31, 1891 .2,136,835 Begg Nov. l5, 1938 '2,417,494 Hoof Mar. 18, 1947 2,538,133 Tratzik Jan.15, 1951 2,556,308 Weatherhead June 12, 1951 Y y FOREIGN PA'rnrrrs Number Country Y Date 5'91;843V Great Britain Y- 1947 117,010 Switzerland 1935 

